Advice regarding boat and trailer brake controller

Hello,

I have a 2010 tacoma V6 TRD (with towing package). I will be purchasing a 2010 Larson LX 1850 boat with a wake board tower. The dealer figures the boat and trailer combined weight should be less than 3500lbs. The trailer is a single axle trailer and it does have brakes.

Should I get a brake controller? If so which one? The dealership recommended one for 325 installed. Thanks in advance!

Peter

Edit: Nevermind, turns out the trailer has surge brakes and I wont need a controller which is great!

 

just be careful with those hyd surge brakes. check on and maintain the brake fluid, and what ever you do don't jack-knife it backing up, that is the quick way to ruin the actuator. also some of the actuator's have grease fittings on the side, keep it oiled up and will make it last longer and is easier on the truck when breaking and taking off. in the past we sold lots of trailers with hyd, but also had lots of repairs due to neg.

 

Thanks for the advice.

What class trailer hitch will I need? I was told the boat, trailer and gas will weigh a total of 3,305 lbs. Thank you.

 

There is a whole section on towing if you look at the Mods & Tutorials tab at the top of the page. Lots of reading... so get a comfortable seat, you'll be a while.

Frank

 

I read through that. From what I understand, the truck has a class IV receiver and a class III hitch can hold 5000 lbs and a class IV is 10,000?
Should I just get a class IV hitch?

Thanks

 

I would say it's better to have more than you need, rather then find out you need more than you have. The best advice I can suggest would be sending out a few PM's to the OP of the towing guide. He put together a very informative document, and would be the best resource to utilize. I'm sure he can answer all of your questions than most here, and would be happy to do it.

Frank

 

I am assuming that the boat trailer will have a 2" coupler on the actuator, and to be honest I would look into getting a heavy duty 2" ball for the truck, buyers products makes a good one, it has a 1" shank and will last. they cost more from buyers but they will last. also put some grease on the ball to reduce the friction. no commits from the peanut gallery on this!